All In
by ipreferwestside
Summary: After the events of 47 Seconds and The Limey, Castle and Beckett wake to find themselves handcuffed to each other in a dark room. Will they be able to set their differences aside? A two-part exploration into what could have happened if Cuffed took place after The Limey. An M-rated two-shot. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_After the events of 47 Seconds and The Limey, Castle and Beckett wake to find themselves handcuffed to each other in a dark room. Will they be able to set their differences aside? A two-part exploration into what could have happened if Cuffed took place after The Limey._

 _Characters are not mine. Any mistakes are. Please note that this fic is rated M; this chapter is not, but the next is._

* * *

 _There's no taking back what we've got  
_ _Too strong, we've had each other's back for too long  
_ _There's no breaking up this time  
_ _And you know it's okay, I came to my senses  
_ _Letting go of my defenses  
_ _There's no way I'm giving up this time_

All In – Lifehouse

* * *

She wakes slowly, an unfamiliar mattress at her back and a body under her cheek. A warm, firm body. Her eyes open, and she feels fingers lightly stroking her back, so she trails her eyes up to see—

 _Oh shit._

She's wide awake now, cranes her head to take in her surroundings. There isn't much to see; the room is completely dark, save for a stream of light coming from above. So she turns her focus on the still-asleep figure to her left, and pokes his chest.

His very firm chest that she tries not to admit is very nice to sleep on.

"Castle," she stage-whispers, desperate for him to wake up, but unsure what – or who – a louder voice may attract. She tries to take back her left arm, which is pinned under his head, but his arm follows.

That's when she sees the handcuffs.

 _Double shit._

She pokes him again, follows with a hard shove against his shoulder. "Castle." Louder, more insistent.

Finally he stirs, blue eyes hazy, and when he sees her, his lips curl in a crooked smile that she tries to ignore. "Kate," he says softly, his voice laced with sleep and adoration. "Hey."

She ignores the fluttering in her stomach at the sound of her name off his tongue. God, she could wake up to that forever. _Not the time, genius._ She sits up as far as she can, and he's forced to follow, as usual. "Castle, wake up." She shakes her left arm, and he turns to see their attached wrists. "Did you do this?"

He cocks an eyebrow. "We're handcuffed. Kinky."

Somehow she's not surprised that this is his reaction. He's probably woken up like this dozens, maybe hundreds of times. Most recently with his stupid blonde flight attendant, probably. She scoffs at him. "Typical."

He sits up completely and squints at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." She looks around again, hoping that after sitting up she can see more.

She's sorely disappointed.

But she's also confused. Where are they? How long were they out? What was going on? And why the hell did her back sting?

She shifts so her back is to him. "Castle, lift my shirt. There's something that hurts."

She hears his breathing stutter and she tilts her head back so she's glaring at him from the corner of her eye. "I don't remember anything beyond waking up this morning, or whenever it was, so I'm relatively sure I was drugged, which means you would have been too. So can you please just be an adult and check for a needle mark?"

He glares at the back of her head. First she strings him along for the better part of a year, then she shatters his heart into a million tiny pieces, and now she wants him to lift her shirt? He takes a deep breath and slowly does, as requested. He sees the angry puncture wound, inflamed and relatively fresh. He touches it; he can't help it, needs to feel her skin…it might be the only chance he gets.

"You're right, you have a needle mark." He lets his hand caress the skin around the wound, his fingers curving around her waist. He tries to ignore the goosebumps that erupt under his touch.

She feels her breath catch in her throat. _So not the time, Kate._ "Castle." Her voice is firmer than it should be, and he complies, dropping her shirt. She hears him mutter something that sounds like "fucking tease" and she turns to face him as much as their position lets her. "You wanna repeat that?" she snaps.

"Not important."

"Are you always this cranky when you wake up?"

He meets her gaze with a glare of his own. "Let's just figure out how to get out of here."

They manage to stand without toppling over, but she goes right back down to the mattress when he takes a large step away from her. She scrambles back up almost immediately and shoves him with her free hand. "Jesus, Castle, what the hell was that?"

"I think I see a chain that could be attached to a light bulb. Was going to turn it on, if that's okay with you." He doesn't even bother to try and keep the bitterness out of his voice.

She lifts their chained left hands and shakes them in front of his face. "Did you forget about this? Or are you really that desperate to get away from me?"

"Fine." He sweeps his free arm in a wide arc around the room. "Where would you like to go, _boss_?"

The way he spits out that last word stops her in her tracks. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Nothing."

"Like hell it's nothing." She moves so she's inches in front of him, their left hands dangling awkwardly between them, her right fist on her waist. "You've been cold and distant for weeks. Is this some kind of messed up male PMS, or did I do something to piss you off?"

"You really don't know, do you?" He scoffs. "Whatever. It doesn't matter." He turns away from her and moves towards the corner of the room. There _is_ a light bulb dangling from the ceiling; their argument is forgotten when he switches it on and their focus shifts to the large freezer in the middle of the room.

She hears a gasp and vaguely registers that it comes from her. "What the hell have we gotten into?"

* * *

It's not until a few hours later, after they've been rescued from the tiger, that she corners him in the ambulance where he's being checked by a paramedic. They'd agreed to remain civil once they realized how much danger they were in, but as soon as they're out of the room he's back to ignoring her.

Her wrist is bandaged first, and she practically sprints to his ambulance and blocks the door as he moves to leave. "Don't."

His knees involuntarily buckle and he plops back down on the gurney at the commanding tone of her voice. "Excuse me?" he fires back.

She steps into the ambulance, shuts the doors behind her. "Cut the bullshit, Castle. You've managed to be mean and sarcastic every chance you can get, and I'm sick of it. We're not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong?" He can't help but laugh. They've just escaped being eaten by a freaking _tiger_ and she's worried that he's a little _rude?_ "Excuse me if I'm not the Jolly Green Giant when I have a close encounter with a very hungry tiger."

"No, Castle." She pushes him back down when he tries to escape again. "I'm not just talking about today. It's been weeks of this shit. What the hell did I do to make you act like this?"

"What did you—" He shakes his head. "Bobby Lopez, Beckett."

"Who?"

"Bobby Lopez. The bombing. Remember? I heard you, Kate. You told him you remember your shooting." He crosses his arms, eyes boring into hers. "Every second of it."

Kate's heart plummets from her chest. _Oh God._ "Castle, that's not – God, that's what this is about? Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

He shrugs. "I figured I'd get over you. Finish this Nikki book, and then be done. You obviously don't give a shit about me, so I'm done pretending to care."

She shakes her head. She can't believe what she's hearing – he thinks she doesn't care? Doesn't he know she does, what she's doing to be ready for him, be the woman he deserves?

She sees the hurt in his eyes and it hits her.

He has no idea.

Because she's never told him, never come right out and said anything. Sure, they'd had that conversation on the swings, but that was months ago. And it was vague. She'd thought he'd understood, then. Obviously he thought she was over him.

She's frozen, torn between crying and spilling her guts, slapping him for making stupid assumptions, and kissing him senseless. She goes for option 3.

Before he can react she's gripping the side of his face, pulling him towards her, and her lips meet his in an echo of their kiss in the alley. Except this one isn't undercover, this one isn't fake. The moment her tongue seeks permission that he grants, he knows.

This one's real.

They paw at each other frantically, blood boiling with arousal and the heat of the closed ambulance. She finally breaks away when he reaches for the hem of her shirt.

"Wait," she pants, reluctantly. "Not here. Not now." She can't stop the moan when his lips ghost over her jaw and to her neck. "Castle, we need to talk about this."

He nudges the collar of her turtleneck aside with his chin. "So talk," he murmurs against her skin.

"No." She manages to shove him away and scoots back to the other side of the ambulance. "Not here." She bites her lip. "Come home with me. Let me explain. I want to explain."

He looks down at the tentative hand reaching towards him. Smiling, he takes it and laces their fingers together. "Okay. But no tigers."

She grins as she pulls him outside. "And next time we're in cuffs, we use my padded ones."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter is rated M so if that's not your thing then skip the next like 1900 words to the line break and you're good. PS, thank you for reading!**

* * *

She's on him almost immediately when he shuts her door, attacks him with the same ferocity as she did in the ambulance. More, actually, since this time they're in private. Her earlier insistence that they talk first is forgotten as soon as his tongue is in her mouth.

This time when Castle tugs at her shirt she doesn't protest, just lifts her arms and pulls away just long enough for him to tear it off and throw it somewhere to the side. She returns the favor, unbuttoning his shirt until she gets impatient and just pulls it over his head, undershirt included.

He gasps for air when she leaves his mouth and starts making her way down his chest. She pins him against the door as she kisses and nibbles and licks. While he knows neither of them are under the impression that he couldn't spin them around and pin _her_ against the door if he wanted to, well, he doesn't want to.

Especially when she's unbuckling his belt and shoving his pants down and – _oh shit_ – wrapping her mouth around him after a sinful lick from base to tip that causes his hips to jerk.

She's working him with her hands and mouth, lips and tongue working to drive him crazy while she grips his ass with one hand and squeezes his balls with the other. He barely resists the urge to tangle his fingers in her hair and bury his dick in her throat, and when she hollows her cheeks and _sucks,_ he has to push her away.

He's painfully hard, harder than he's been in a long time, and when he sees her staring up at him he almost loses it anyway. He takes her hands and pulls her up, kisses her deeply, tastes the trace of himself on her tongue. He's never really liked that before, but with Kate – damn. It's intoxicating.

She pulls back and gazes at him with those beautiful eyes he could get lost in. "Why'd you stop me?"

He almost loses it again when she drags one finger along his length. "Shit, Kate, don't. You do that and it'll be over before it even begins." He pulls her against him and smiles at the moan that he hears when she straddles his thigh. Her pants aren't even off and she's rocking against him, her arms around his shoulders, fingers gripping and leaving bruises, he's sure of it. He just keeps his leg still and stares, studying her as her hips grind harder and her eyes flutter closed and within moments she's stiffening, her head dropping to his shoulder with a loud moan.

She slowly comes back to him, flushed chest heaving as she catches her breath. Kate Beckett has had many orgasms in her life. But she is relatively sure this is the first time she's ever come with her pants on, riding a thigh, while _she's_ pinning _him_ against the door. And if the look on Castle's face is any indication, he's very, very proud of himself. And he is very, very turned on.

"Kate," he half-whispers, half-growls.

"Don't."

He can't help but grin at her tone. She's trying to be intimidating, but her voice is literally laced with sex. "You just—"

"I know."

"That was—"

She shuts him up with a hand around his cock, lightly squeezes, and he freezes. "Shut up, Castle." She lets go of him and steps away, works her pants and bra off as she walks towards her bedroom. She shoots a look back at him and can't help but smile. He's rooted to the spot, naked as a jaybird, his mouth open in delight and his cock standing proud. She makes sure her back is to him when she slowly peels her underwear down her legs. She hears a strangled groan when she steps into the short hallway and out of sight. "Make sure you lock the door," she calls over her shoulder.

He catches up to her as she steps into her bedroom, and she turns when she hears him stop. He's standing just outside the door just staring, and she realizes that for all the times he's been here, he's never seen her room. It's always been her sanctuary, where she shuts the world out and tries to relax.

She's let men in her bedroom before, but no more. Once Castle crosses the threshold, she knows he's the last man who will ever share her bed. Because he's it for her. Her one-and-done. And if she's honest with herself, he's been it for a long time.

Rick takes in the room, such a stark contrast from the minimalism of the rest of her apartment. It's so much more personal, with trinkets dotting the dresser and bookshelf. He smirks when he notices the line of his books, and when his eyes come back to her, she's studying him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip like he's seen so many times.

"Nice books," he teases, jerking his head in that direction.

Kate rolls her eyes and turns, walking towards the bed. "Shut up."

Castle comes up behind her and presses himself flush against her back. He feels her tense when his cock brushes between her thighs, sliding easily against her slickness. And suddenly, any idea of going slow is gone. They'll have time for slow later. But right now, he just needs life-affirming sex.

And judging by the sinful roll of her hips against him, Kate feels exactly the same way.

Kate lets out a sigh when Castle's hands cup her breasts, pinching her nipples, already hard with arousal. He trails one hand down, down, down, past her stomach and – _oh God YES_ – right between her thighs. Her legs, normally graceful and strong, falter as he circles her clit briefly before plunging a thick finger between her folds.

Castle's hips buck against her, and while he wants nothing more right now than to bury his cock in her, he does not want to do it from behind. Not yet, anyway. So he removes his fingers from her and deliberately brings his hand to his mouth, licking her arousal from his fingers.

And Kate's eyes, almost black with desire, follow his every move.

She turns them around and pushes him onto the bed, follows him when he scoots so he's sitting against the headboard. She straddles his thighs and lightly strokes his cock, smiling when his knees come up to bracket her body and keep her upright. She squeezes him, her grin widening at the loud moan that it draws.

"You okay?" she teases, her voice low.

Castle grabs her hand. "As much as I'd love to come with you stroking me," – he flips them over and kneels between her thighs – "I would much rather come inside you."

Kate pulls him to her for a kiss, and grips his hair when he quickly breaks it to trail his lips down her neck. "God, Castle," she breathes when his mouth finds her breast. He peppers both breasts with light kisses and pauses at her scar.

He'd noticed it before when she was riding his leg, but this is the first time he's seen it, is able to _look_ at it. He caresses the puckered skin, staring for a few moments, before dusting his lips over it in reverence.

Kate tugs on his ear lightly, and he takes the hint and come back up to brush a kiss against her mouth. She wants to deepen it, but he's gone before she has a chance to.

Castle smirks at her before bending back over her chest. He draws a nipple into his mouth, relishing the cry he hears when his teeth graze the sensitive flesh. Within minutes she's arching against him, and he has to lace their fingers together so she doesn't scratch his scalp.

Kate comes immediately when he switches breasts and slips two fingers into her wet heat. He's throbbing against her thigh, and it's taking all of his energy not to grind against her.

He needs to be inside her.

Now.

She manages to gather her thoughts enough to reach for her nightstand, and when she pulls out a condom, Castle just quirks his eyebrow at her. She feels her face flush in embarrassment. "I, uh, went off the pill after I was shot. Didn't think this was going to happen quite yet."

Castle grins and takes the condom, opening it and rolling it over himself easily. He settles between her legs and teases her opening. "Do you want to wait a while? Go back on it first?" he asks with a shallow thrust, his tip barely entering her.

Kate groans loudly. "No. God, no, no way." She locks her ankles around his thighs, grips his ass with her hands, and pulls. His cock is lined up with her perfectly and he sinks to the hilt with a groan of his own.

"Fuck," he breathes, dropping his head to her collarbone. He slowly rolls his hips, smiling at the whimper that comes out of Kate's mouth.

"Castle," she whispers, threading her fingers through his hair. "Babe, look at me."

He does, and he's surprised to see her eyes shimmering. But she's smiling, so he hopes that means they're happy tears. "You okay?"

"Perfect." Kate cups his cheek and pulls him down for a kiss that she deepens immediately. When they finally part for air, she grips his hips again and lifts hers, her breath catching when his pelvis rubs against her clit. "I love you too, Rick. I love you."

Castle's hips jerk at her words. "You have no idea how badly I've wanted to hear those words come out of your mouth," he confesses. He props himself up, his hands on either side of her head, and – _finally_ – starts moving.

Kate lifts her hips to meet his, and soon their whispered declarations of love are replaced by moans and the slap of skin on skin. It's only a matter of minutes before Castle's hips start to jerk sloppily, and he sneaks a hand between them to press his thumb against her bundle of nerves.

"Kate," he pants, his forehead on hers, "are you close?" He presses again, harder, and Kate cries out.

"Fuck, Castle, yes, do that again." He does, and she keens, his name falling from her lips on a gasp as her vision goes white and she grips his shoulders when she feels her release. She's sensitive, not sure she can handle much more, but he just keeps moving, and she feels herself rising, rising, rising again.

He's close, so very close, but he's determined to make her come one more time, wants them to do it together. So he grits his teeth and holds on. He pauses briefly to move to his knees, and when Kate glares and almost growls when he slips out of her, he smiles and brushes his lips against hers, his tongue darting out to tease her lips.

Kate slides one leg up to hook around Castle's waist, her heel digging into his ass, and he buries himself again, immediately sets a punishing pace that has her writhing. Castle grips the back of her thighs for leverage as he just _pounds_ but it's too much, and after just a few strokes he's jerking, spilling inside the condom. Kate has two fingers rubbing furiously against her clit, and she comes again moments later.

* * *

Castle wakes first and watches her sleep, studies the way she looks, the way her breath moves the hair that's fallen over her face. She looks relaxed, younger, the stress of her daily life forgotten for a brief time. And when she lets out a quiet moan and rolls her hips, he's relatively sure she's dreaming about their night. _She better be,_ he thinks with a smile.

He should be tired, having slept just a few hours. But between talking and making love, with all their pent-up tension coming to the surface, he feels invigorated. He doesn't know what the future will bring; they both still have a lot of healing to do, but now they can heal together, help each other.

He's not sure how long he watches her, but the light streaming through the window brightens, and soon he feels the insistent tug of nature. He brushes a light kiss to her hairline, pauses when she shifts, and smiles again when she burrows farther into the covers. He's pretty sure he'll never wipe the grin off his face.

After using the restroom he pads out to the living room, sees his clothes in a heap by the door. He picks up their clothes on his way out and drapes them over the back of the couch, save his boxers, which he slips on. He'd be perfectly happy naked, but he's not sure what Kate's modestly threshold is. They were both very comfortable last night, but part of him is afraid of what the morning will bring.

Castle is pleasantly surprised to see that her fridge has slightly more in it than last time he cooked her breakfast over two years before. There's still a small Styrofoam temple, sure, but at least her bacon doesn't have anything furry on it. He starts the coffee while the pan is heating up, and while he's flipping the last of the pancakes and putting the bacon on a plate he hears soft footsteps approaching.

He turns, catching Kate mid-yawn, and he offers her coffee with a smile. "Good morning," he says quietly, fighting the urge to reach out and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Kate tugs at the hem of the t-shirt she'd thrown on over some sleep shorts, suddenly self-conscious. They've seen each other in the morning, of course, since she's stayed at the loft a few times, but after the last few weeks, she'd started to lose hope that he'd ever be making her breakfast after a night of passion. "Morning," she replies. She suddenly realizes that he's only wearing boxers, and she steps closer, curls her fingers in the waistband at his back. "Pancakes?" she asks, peering over his shoulder at the contents of the stove.

Castle's breath hitches at the coolness of her fingers on his skin. Her chin is warm on his shoulder, and when she turns her head to press her lips to his neck he leans his cheek on the top of her head. "It's an edible way of saying 'thank you for last night,'" he teases.

Kate huffs at that, memories of the first breakfast he made for her flooding both their minds. She snags a piece of bacon, suddenly shy when another thought creeps into her mind. "And...is that all you're saying? Thank you for last night?"

"What do you mean?" Castle flips the stove off and turns to her, takes her half-empty coffee and sets it on the counter. "You don't think...Kate, you don't think this is a one-time thing, do you?"

Kate tugs at her bottom lip with her teeth, tilts her head forward so her face is framed by her loose hair. "I don't know," she confesses. "I hope not. I just don't want things to be weird between us."

"Kate." Castle cups her chin, tilts it up so she's looking at him. "I'm sorry if I didn't make it clear last night. I love you. I am completely in love with you. I'm all in with this, with us. And I don't know if you're there yet, but if you're not, that's okay. I just need-"

He's cut off by her lips against his. Her hands grip his arms, shoulders, anywhere she can reach, and his move immediately to pull her hips against his. By the time they break he's pulling her shirt off and her hands have slipped under his boxers, and she gasps when he pins her against the counter.

"Me too," she breathes against his mouth. "God, Rick, when you pulled away, I thought I lost you...I'm so sorry I made you think that I didn't love you. But I do. It scares me how much I love you." She takes his left hand, rubs her thumb against the bandage over his wrist. "But after yesterday, and that freaking tiger, life's too short." She kisses him again, slowly, their tongues meeting in a passionate embrace. She looks directly in his eyes when they part, and they're dark with lust but bright and hopeful at the same time, and she hopes hers are as open and honest as his are.

"I'm all in too, Rick. I'm all in."

* * *

 **-FIN-**


End file.
